Whitetail Dascyllus
Dascyllus aruanus
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Pomacentridae
- Genus
- Dascyllus
- Species
- Dascyllus aruanus
The whitetail dascyllus (Dascyllus aruanus), or humbug damselfish, is a small black-and-white striped damselfish that lives in tight groups among branching corals. Three bold black bars cross its white body, and its tail is plain white.
It grows to about 8-10 cm. Each group claims a single coral head, hovering above it to feed on plankton and diving into the branches at the first sign of danger. Groups are led by a dominant male, and these feisty fish will chase much larger intruders.
The whitetail dascyllus is common throughout the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where it is found on almost every shallow reef with branching corals.